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UK Caravanning(uk.rec.caravanning) A forum for the discussion of caravanning undertaken by residents of the United Kingdom, whether in the UK or abroad. It encourages the interchange of views on the merits of models of caravan, makes of tow car, accessories, caravan sites, caravan clubs, and other related topics. The term caravan is to include trailer vans, motor caravans and trailer tents.

Dommany of you service your own vans before the summer and if so what sort
of checks have you done, we bought our van serviced in August and bib about
300 miles before winter. I want to make sure it ready for the summer but
don't want to pay through the nose if I don't have to.

Dommany of you service your own vans before the summer and if so what sort
of checks have you done, we bought our van serviced in August
..
What's to service on a caravan? Equipment works or it don't.
Check wheels and tyres, hitch damper and adjust brakes if necessary. Connect
all equipment and check for gas leaks, water leaks, lights and electric.
Wash and dry, off you go.
Harringtons have a big advert for three star servicing. Bronze, silver and
gold. Cheapest is £80 to tell you the wheels are on, the lights and brakes
work.
DaveK.

Dommany of you service your own vans before the summer and if so what
sort of checks have you done, we bought our van serviced in August
and bib about 300 miles before winter. I want to make sure it ready
for the summer but don't want to pay through the nose if I don't have
to.

Thanks

Glenn

There are a number of areas to be dealt with. Just a few a

RUNNING GEAR
Grease the hitch, handbrake lever, brake linkage, corner steady screws and
jockey wheel winding mechanism. Check and adjust the brake cables and shoe
clearances. Check brake shoe condition. If in doubt, remove the drums, clean
out the dust and check that the shoes have adequate lining left and are not
greasy. Check and adjust the wheel bearings.

ROAD LIGHTS
Check that all exterior lights work correctly.

GAS
Check that all pipes are in good condition and that there are no leaks. [A
GasLow gauge is useful for this]. Check that all gas appliances (heater,
fridge, water heater) work ok.

INTERNAL ELECTRICS
Check that all 12v lights, pump, toilet flush etc. work. Check the integrity
of mains wiring, and that sockets & extension leads are correctly wired [A
plug-in socket tester with 3 neon lights insiide is useful.] Ideally check
that the RCDs work under fault conditions. [I'm still thinking about a DIY
way of testing this - maybe by applying a suitably high resistance between
live and earth].

Glenn wrote on Monday (23/02/2004) :
Dommany of you service your own vans before the summer and if so what sort
of checks have you done, we bought our van serviced in August and bib about
300 miles before winter. I want to make sure it ready for the summer but
don't want to pay through the nose if I don't have to.

DIY..... It is really not that difficult.

Check the lights all work properly.
Check thoroughly for signs of damp.
Check the tyres for wear and signs of cracking.
Check the brakes both operate and release properly.
Check and adjust if necessary the handbrake.
Check the damper if one is fitted.
Pump a little grease into the coupling.
Check the gas pipes and particularly the flexible is in good condition.

Every couple or so years, remove the hubs - check the
drums/shoes/bearings and regrease them.

Hitch Lock wrote on Monday (23/02/2004) :
Ideally check
that the RCDs work under fault conditions. [I'm still thinking about a DIY
way of testing this - maybe by applying a suitably high resistance between
live and earth].

....Which is exactly what the 'test' button on the RCD does already. To
adeqautely test the RCD, you would need an instrument which checks both
the current required to trip it and the time interval of tripping.

Dommany of you service your own vans before the summer and if so what sort
of checks have you done, we bought our van serviced in August and bib
about
300 miles before winter. I want to make sure it ready for the summer but
don't want to pay through the nose if I don't have to.

There's usually a grease nipple or two for the telescopic part of the hitch.

I usually

Clean the coupling thoroughly of all grit etc. and smear it with grease
(ditto the towball) - but don't do this if you have the super-duper friction
damper that works directly on the towball.

Also a bit of gearbox oil trickled into the pivots for the handbrake etc.
doesn't go amiss.

Clean the threads on the corner steadies. and lubricate them (gearbox oil
again!)

Check the brakes cables all work. Every couple of years have the brake drums
off and dust 'em out, and just make sure things are not all rusted up.

All lights and exterior electrical connections get treated with WD 40 -
ditto the sockets on the car.

Flush water pipes through with Miltons (for sterilising baby bottles)

Replace flexible gas pipe every 2 years with new pipe (it has a date on it!)

And as someone else said check there are no gas leaks etc.

"DaveK" wrote in message
...

"Glenn" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

Dommany of you service your own vans before the summer and if so what
sort
of checks have you done, we bought our van serviced in August
.
What's to service on a caravan? Equipment works or it don't.
Check wheels and tyres, hitch damper and adjust brakes if necessary.
Connect
all equipment and check for gas leaks, water leaks, lights and electric.
Wash and dry, off you go.
Harringtons have a big advert for three star servicing. Bronze, silver and
gold. Cheapest is £80 to tell you the wheels are on, the lights and brakes
work.
DaveK.

Dommany of you service your own vans before the summer and if so what sort
of checks have you done, we bought our van serviced in August and bib about
300 miles before winter. I want to make sure it ready for the summer but
don't want to pay through the nose if I don't have to.
Glenn